Tarot
by Pixie ala mode
Summary: On a dark and stormy day the Doctor walks into a carnival tent to dry off. He gets more than he asks for when a young mysterious lady gives him a tarot reading. What does the Doctor's future hold? -One Shot


Tarot

The rain pitter patted against the plastic carnival tents roof causing the candle lit room to seem more mystical then it really was. The walls were a bright red with splashes of green stripes near the entrance. It reminded the Doctor of Christmas. The floor of the tent was covered with thick felt carpeting that soaked in the water that ran in little rivers down from the top of the tent to the ground.

It was a bit damp but cozy none-the-less. Candles, bits of ivy and goddess statues marked the path towards the fortune-tellers table. The table and chairs themselves were on a raised podium to keep the mystics feet from getting wet on days such as this. There were two comfy looking chairs across from each other, one a deep green the other a bright purple.

In the purple chair sat a plump young women dressed in a horribly fake looking gypsy costume. Her skirts were a mix of cotton and velvet while the corset she strained to wear looked like it belonged to a gothic fancy dress costume. Her hair was long with layers, framing her heart shaped face and her eyes were done heavily with black eyeliner. The Doctor guessed it was all for a mysterious effect but instead it made her innocent face look a bit out of order.

"Hello sir, my name is Olivia the Lady of Tarot. Would you like a reading today?" Her voice was soft, confirming that the whole set was false advertising.

"I'm afraid not Lady Olivia, I only came to get out of the rain. I'm the Doctor by the way. " He smiled at her his wet hair slapping against his forehead.

"Oh but sir, on days like today the readings are free. I have a feeling the cards have something to say to you. "She insisted. Olivia studied the odd man in the low lighting. He was tall, good looking no doubt but his aura was off, far too old to fit his young healthy body. Olivia shook her head to get back her bearing. Something certainly did have something to say to this man. Or was he a man? Maybe he was something far older.

"Alright, I suppose since it's free." He plopped in the green chair in front of her. His brown eyes smiling as she gently took the cards from the velvet pouch in her lap. "I don't really believe in this you know. I've always felt that it was silly to look into the future." The Doctor hoped he had ruffled a few feathers but she ignored him.

Well it was silly to a Time Lord to look into the future. With the whole time and space vortex in his mind he knew the future, the past and the present. It wasn't that difficult. All he had to do was think of a year and all that year's important events would come pouring into his mind like water from a faucet.

Olivia shuffled the cards turning the upside down; right side up and then stuffing them back into the deck. She laid down three of the cards facing his side of table. "Turn them over if you would Doctor." Carefully, the Doctor turned the battered cards on their backs.

The first and the last didn't look so bad, but it was the middle one that caught his two hearts off guard. They began to beat faster, just a little faster, but enough to make the time lord feel worried. The first card held the image of a couple holding hands, they were naked but they did not seem ashamed of it. The second card was a skeleton holding a scythe in the background was a wheat field with a setting sun and a tree with autumn leaves. The last was a picture of a young man with his head in the clouds, his back to the sun and his foot off the edge of a cliff.

"Your past Doctor, your present and your future. The Lovers, Death and the Fool. All very interesting cards." Olivia smiled from beneath her mop of blonde hair. "Death isn't so bad sir. I see your expression and let me assure you. I'd like to explain the cards in order though. So let me start with the lovers."

"Hang on a moment. You mean Death doesn't mean an actual death?" The Doctor looked puzzled. He could have sworn the cards were straightforward and didn't have double meanings.

"Well now sir. You're a Time Lord. Shouldn't you know not to fear death?" She tapped her fingers on the remaining card deck. "Death has been frequent in your long life. As you know it never really ends sir. Life shall always go on."

"Olivia how do you know that? How do you know who I am?"

"You are not the only one that can see into the beyond sir. Let's not dwell on this subject; I have much to tell you. Now let's see, where were we? Oh the Lovers. The card sir tells me you've had many companions. Young, old, female, male, and even your own race of people, you don't like to be alone much do you? It also says that you feel safer when you are with people. Even if it is hard for you to say good-bye, it's easier for you to remember as young vibrant people. We humans have such short lives compared to you. We're simply flashes in the pan."

"Stop messing about. How do you know this?" He hissed between his teeth. The urge to shake her was strong but she didn't sound like the same women he had spoken to when he had first walked in. She seemed new, more confident. Even her eyes held a different spark. An all-knowing spark he held in his own eyes.

"The Death card Doctor. It says your song is ending. However in Tarot it does not mean an actual death, as I said before. It means a change. Perhaps it means a change of heart or a change of face. Your time shall be different sir."

He stared at her confused. Olivia had looked normal enough when he walked in. All plump and pink like a Christmas pie. No regular street carnival fortune Teller could give these kinds of readings. Even on a rainy day when the fortunes were free of charge. Maybe she wasn't normal.

"Ah the Fool. One of my favorite cards Doctor. It means that you're coming upon a journey. A shiny and new one that will show you more than you ever could have imagined. Ah, but do not fret Doctor. Your journey has its time. All you have to do is wait for it. "

"I don't understand how do you know all this?" He was so confused. A simple girl knowing so much more than she should.

"The cards tell me sir."

"But how? How can they tell you? Who are you?"

"I'm just a shop girl Doctor. Working like any one else, except I've got a bit extra from the Rift."

"Olivia, are you talking about the Rift in Cardiff? Because that I would understand. You're a vessel for the Rift, Olivia. "He grabbed her shoulders, his face triumphant from figuring out the mystery.

"Doctor, Cardiff isn't the only place with a Rift in time and space. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get my band ready for our gig tonight." Olivia shook him off. Blew out the candles at the table, stuffed the cards pack into their pouch, and tore off her costume.

"Olivia what's the name of your band?" He felt like his world was tilting. Where else was there a rift? Was what he really wanted to ask.

"Bad Wolf. Now I think you should get back to Donna Doctor. She'll be waiting for you in the bearded ladies tent. Good bye." With that the young women walked into the wet night disappearing into the dank blackness like some sort of shadow.


End file.
